Refuse burner apparatus



g- 1969 w. M. FISHER 3,460,490

REFUSE BURNER APPARATUS Filed Sept. 28, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

BWILFRED M. FISHER ATTORNEY Aug. 12,1969 w M. FISHER REFUSE BURNERAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Sept. 28,,1967

FIG. 2

FIG. 5

FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

WILFRED M. FISHER BY ATTORNEY United States PatentOflice 3,460,490Patented Aug. 12, 1969 3,460,490 REFUSE BURNER APPARATUS Wilfred M.Fisher, 745 N. Lawndale, South Bend, Ind. 46628 Filed Sept. 28, 1967,Ser. No. 671,398 Int. Cl. F23g /00 U.S. Cl. 110-18 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A refuse burning apparatus having a cylindrical shapedburner portion and a removable pyramid shaped cover mounted above theburner portion and having a hole in the top. The burner portion may beenclosed in a rectangularly shaped body and at least one of the panelsof the body is provided with an opening near the bottom for combustionair.

Most trash burners which do not have a secondary source of heat, such asgas, will often not burn the trash completely, and will frequentlysmolder, smoke and smell for extended periods of time until the firedies out, leaving the half burnt material in the burner. The partiallyburnt material accumulates in the burner and interferes with theeffective operation of the burner and requires frequent emptying.Further, these burners, which are often drum or cyindrical shaped andopen at the top, emit sparks and flames which create a fire hazard tosurrounding property and to the one emptying the refuse and stirring thefire to accelerate burning. This type of burner, while simple inconstruction and operation and relatively inexpensive, is virtuallyincapable of burning' wet or damp material which, if placed in theburner, will extinguish the fire and will have to be removed therefrom.It is therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention toprovide a refuse burner apparatus which is so constructed and designedthat it will direct the draft to obtain effective combustion of therefuse material and to consume most of the smoke, and which will handlewet and damp materials without causing the material to smolder, smoke orsmell to any extent or for extended periods of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a burner for all types ofcombustible rubbish, which is relatively simple in construction andoperation and which can be easily cleaned, relocated and maintained inoptimum operating condition without attention or servicing.

Sttll another object of the invention is to provide a refuse burnerwhich provides maximum safety to person and property, and which is neatand attractive in appearance and easy to fabricate, ship, store andassemble, without the use of any special tools or equipment.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a trash burner apparatusembodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the trash burner apparatus shown inFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the present apparatus,the section being taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged horizontal cross sectional view of the presentapparatus, the section being taken on line 44 of FIGURE 3, illustratingmore effectively the relationship of parts in the present structure; and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the top of the present trashburner apparatus showing it as a modification of the inventive concept.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 10 designates thepresent refuse burner apparatus generally, 12 the body of the burner, 14a cover, and 16 the internal fire box or burner for the material to beburnt. The present burner apparatus may be of various sizes andconstructed of sheet metal of various gauges and kinds, includinggalvanized steel and aluminum. It may also be painted or left in themetallic condition. These are details which do not directly involve thepresent invention, and hence will not be described further herein.

Body 12 is constructed of four rectangular panels 20, 22, 24 and 26joined together at the corners, either integrally or by a suitable jointto form four continuous side walls of rigid construction. Two handles 28and 30 are mounted on two opposed panels: and are secured thereto byrivets or other suitable securing means to provide an easy means forlifting the body. These handles may be at various locations; however,the location shown in the drawings is preferred, in that the body mustbe lifted to a relatively high position in order to disassemble the bodyfrom fire box 16, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. One ormore openings 32 is provided at or near the lower edge of one or more ofthe panels in order to provide the air for combustion. In the embodimentillustrated in the drawings, the opening consists of merely a notch-likeconfiguration in the lower edge of one of the panels, but a series ofround holes or a plurality of notches in each side may be provided ifdesired. The notch 32, in effect, forms two legs 34 and 36 at oppositecorners of each. panel which may rest directly on the ground or oncement blocks or on other suitable supporting structures.

The fire box or burner 16 is cylindrical in shape and the side walls 40and bottom 42 are imperforate except for one or more small holes 44 inthe bottom for draining water or other liquids from the burner. Theseholes, not being intended for the combustion air, may be omittedentirely and are not required for the effective operation of the presentburner apparatus. While the fire box may be specially constructed forthe present burner, a conventional oil drum forms a suitable burner orfire box in combination with body 12 and cover 14, the burner shown inthe drawings consisting of such a drum. The holes 44 can readily bedrilled or punched in the bottom of the drum and the lid thereof iscompletely removed and discarded. In order to obtain the full benefitsof the present invention, the fire box or burner is mounted upon aplurality of supports 50 to hold the bottom of the box several inchesabove the ground or other supporting surface. Supports 50, as shown inthe drawings, may consist of a plurality of bricks of cement blocks ormay be legs permanently attached to the bottom of the drum. As a furtheralternative, the drum may be supported by the legs or support membersmounted in the body 12, thus eliminating the leg-type constructionillustrated in FIG- URE 3. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the side walls20, 22, 24 and 26 are spaced outwardly from the external surface of thefire box, and while this is the preferred arrangement, the space at thefour corners of the body provides adequate air, hence making the spacingbetween the inner sides of the four panels and the external surface ofthe fire box unimportant. A pan 52 is disposed in the space 53 createdby the elevated fire box position and it is designed to contain a pileof charcoal or other long burning combustible material, the purpose ofwhich will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The cover 14 is generally of a pyramid shape shown in the drawings as afrusto-pyramid, and is constructed of four generally triangular panels54, 56, 58 and 60, shown as a trapezoidal shape, joined at their cornersto the adjacent panels by rivets or other suitable means, including oneor more integral joints. The cover seats on the upper edge of body 12and is provided with a small overhang and seats sufficiently tightly onthe upper edge that no substantial amount of air for combustion isprovided from any space between the body and cover. A hole 62 isprovided in the upper end of the cover and in the embodiment illustratedin the drawings, is rectangular in shape and covered by a screen 64secured to the cover and to the top of two opposite panels by strips 66and 68 secured thereto by a plurality of screws. Handles 70 and 72 aremounted on opposite panels and secured thereto by rivets or othersuitable securing means to assist in removing the top from body 12.

In the operation of the present trash burner apparatus, rubbish or othermaterial to be burned is placed in fire box or burner 16 and lighted.Cover 14 is then placed on body 12, thus causing the updraft to fiowthrough hole 62 and the incoming draft to flow inwardly through openings32, upwardly in the space between the body side walls and the side wallsof burner 16. As the air passes upwardly through this space, it may beheated by the fire in the burner and, upon reaching the top of theburner, passes downwardly along the internal side Walls of the burner tothe base of the flame, thereby providing partially heated air foreffective combustion. Some of the air which reaches the top of theburner is directed upwardly to mix with the smoke and hot gases passingthrough the cover, thereby providing air for effective combustion of thegases before they are discharged through hole 62.

Since many materials, such as green grass, wet leaves and garbage,contain sufficient moisture to prevent combustion or to retardcombustion to the point where the material smolders for long periods oftime, the present burner provides a means for preparing these wet ormoist materials for burning. Charcoal or other long burning, high heatmaterial is placed in pan 52 and ignited after the moist or wet materialhas been placed in burner 16. The heat from the burning charcoal passesthrough the bottom of the container and the air heated by this materialpasses along the sides of the burner, vaporizing the moisture in thematerial. The driving off of this moisture is continued until thematerial has become sutficiently dry to burn readily without theapplication of any external heat. After the rubbish material has beendried sufficiently, the length of time required depending upon the bulkof the material and the amount of moisture therein, the material isignited and burns in the same manner as the material previously referredto herein.

Another advantage of the present invention is the fact that the covercan be used separately from body 12 by merely placing it over the top ofthe fire box or drum as illustrated in FIGURE 5. The rectangular coverprovides at its corners four well defined air inlets which direct thecombustion air finst upwardly and then over the top of the burner,causing it to flow downwardly along the inner sides of the burner to thebase of the flame to provide sufficieint air for combustion, andsimultaneously causing it to flow upwardly along the inner side of thecover to provide air for combustion of the hot gases. This constructionpermits the top to be sold separately from the body and permits it to beused on several drums containing various combustible materials, inaddition to its use on body 12.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been described indetail herein, various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. A refuse burning apparatus comprising a cylindrically shaped burnerand a removable generally pyramid shaped cover for-saidburner disposedthereabove and having a hole in the top, the four corners of said coverprojecting outwardly from the sides of said burner and in closeproximity to the upper edge thereof and forming air passages forcombustion of refuse in said burner.

2. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which arectangularly shaped body encloses Said burner and supports said cover.

3. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which said bodyconsists of four rectangularly shaped metal panels joined together toform a rigid structure and having the center 'of their inner sides inclose proximity to the external surface of said burner.

4. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 3, in which at leastone of said panels is provided with an opening near the bottom forcombustion air.

5. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which a supportmeans is provided for elevating the bottom of said burner above thelower edge of said body to provide a space beneath said burner.

6. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 5, in which a tray isdisposed in said space for retaining a combustible material beneath thebottom of said burner.

7. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which said coveris constructed of four generally triangularly shaped panels joinedtogether at their edges to form a rigid structure.

8. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 7, in which thehole'in the top is covered with a screen-like structure.

9. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 2, in which said bodyconsists of four rectangularly shaped panels, and said burner issupported therein above the lower edge of said body to provide a spacefor receiving a combustible material for driving off moisture fromrefuse in the burner before said latter material is ignited.

10. A refuse burning apparatus as defined in claim 9, in which the upperedges of said body and said burner are on substantially the same plane.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 678,863 7/1901 Cox et al. -181,065,445 6/1913 Harris 110-18 1,476,490 12/ 1923 Christensen et al.

1,607,309 11/1926 Romig 110-18 2,095,452 10/1937 Rodman 110-18 2,814,26311/1957 Parrish 11018 3,160,122. 12/1964 Sherman 110-18 JAMES W.WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner

